Man being held in jail after four men allegedly raped nine-year-old girl while mom smoked meth

VERNAL, Utah -- A Utah man is in jail on felony charges after he and three other men allegedly raped a nine-year-old girl while her mother was smoking methamphetamine in a garage with a friend.

According to KSTU in Salt Lake City, citing a probable cause statement filed on March 30th, the alleged assault happened on Easter Sunday at a home in Vernal, Utah.

KSTU reports the nine-year-old girl was with her mother at a home in Vernal -- where the mother was hanging out with a friend she met while incarcerated in jail. As the nine-year-old girl slept on the couch, her mother and that friend agreed to go into the garage and get high on methamphetamine.

When the mother returned, her daughter was on the couch but her clothes were in disarray and she seemed upset and wanted to go home.

The next day, the girl reported that four men inside the home had taken her into a bedroom before taking turns raping her and then sodomizing her.

The girl reported that while one of the men was raping her, he told her he would kill her if she ever told anyone about what was happening.

The girl’s mother notified police, who responded to the home.

One of the four alleged rapists was identified by the victim from a photograph, and 36-year-old Larson James RonDeau was taken into custody.

According to KSTU, RonDeau told police that the other three men -- Josiah RonDeau, Jerry Flatlip and Randall Flatlip -- had traveled to Montana for personal business along with the woman the girl’s mother had been at the home to visit, Glynda RonDeau. He told police he wasn’t sure when they would return to Utah.

Officers executed a search warrant and located evidence relating to the sexual assault, such as bloodstained bedding, as well as marijuana and drug paraphernalia at the home.

RonDeau was advised of his Miranda rights and agreed to answer questions without an attorney present.

According to KSTU, the man verified the girl was in the home during the time when the alleged assaults occurred, however he denied any involvement in the incident.

The probable cause statement indicates he “did proffer the other three men could have been involved, or responsible, but not him.”

Larson RonDeau was booked into jail on one count of rape of a child and one count of sodomy of a child. Both charges are first degree felonies.